Melrad Team Racing Update - The third annual Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race, a five-day, 195-mile odyssey through the deep woods of Pisgah National Forest, was attended by two Melrad Team Members, Fred Smith and Katie Button and Melrad Coach/Pro Melanie McQuaid. Melanie, having just come off a win at Xterra Nationals in Ogden, UT, took 1st place in the Women’s Pro. Fred Smith of TN took 1st place in his age group and Katie Button of Canada took 3rd place. Congrats to Mel and the Melrad Team!
On 9/24, 3 Melrad Team members plus coach and pro Melanie McQuaid, competed in the Xterra National Championship Race in Utah. Keri Grosse, Northwest Region, took 1st place in her age group. Meiling Yee, West Region, took 7th place in her age group. Lance Thatcher, South Central Region, took 17th place in his age group. Melanie McQuaid won the women’s pro - 4th year in a row, and took the overall series championship. At the Champions Dinner on 9/23, the regional champions were recognized which included Melrad Team members Fred Smith, Keri Grosse, Jo Markham and Meiling Yee. Congratulations to all the Melrad Team members who continue to tear up the races! Look for a huge Melrad Team presence at the Xterra Worlds Championship in Maui!
5 Melrad team members, plus Melrad Team Coach and Pro Melanie McQuaid made a great showing at Xterra Canada this past weekend. Melanie took 1st place in the Women’s Pro; team members who raced and their age group finishes: Fred Smith- 1st, Katie Button - 1st, Jo Markham - 4th and Lance Thatcher - 6th. Alexia Droz also raced the Sport race and finished 2nd in her age group. Look for the Melrad Team next at Xterra National in Ogden, Utah!
Katie Button - Collingwood, Ontario
Training and racing out of Collingwood Ontario, this physiotherapist was the only age grouper present at the ITU Cross Championships in Spain in May, where she placed fourth in the 30 to 34 age group.
Inspired by a feature article on Christine Jeffrey and excited to learn that triathlon exists off road, Button entered the Canadian Xterra Championships in Whistler last September. Despite the technical bike course and grueling 12 km run, she qualified to represent Canada at the World Xterra Championship in Maui by placing third in her age group. According to Button, Maui was a “sufferfest,” adding that lava rock can be unforgiving on the skin. The experience was unforgettable, but she still wants to go back.
“Xterra racing connects more with nature and is about learning new skills. I much rather play in the trails than on concrete. You just need to get out there and try it.” Katie plans on racing the two Xterra duathlons at Hardwood Ski and Bike, the Eastern Xterra Championships in Quebec then onto Whistler again to complete for another chance at racing against the Worlds best in Maui. Her advice to triathletes is to join a local mountain bike group and get off road!
Been a while since my last blog, as Mel has reminded me, so I guess the recent hat trick seems the best place to start as any….
Coming into 2011, I was pretty excited about the way my training and racing had progressed over the last few seasons. A solid winter strength program and some quality time in the saddle had me feeling really fit early on. But after a nasty stomach bug hit right before my first race of the season in Waco and then some hellish work travel that took me half way around the world, I was starting to get a little worried about the next month’s racing schedule. Three races in four weekends and there was no telling where I’d be in terms of fitness.
First up Pelham and the Southeast Regional Championships…one that I really, really wanted to win…was still struggling with a minor foot ailment courtesy of some pesky root or rock or gremlin that snagged me in Waco in the midst of a massively dehydrated suffer shuffle run split, but otherwise was feeling okay…race day was perfect, dry and hot. A couple of last minute scratches to the start list certainly helped me out, but I was super stoked to pull into the lead position halfway through the bike leg. After a couple of minor mechanicals that cost me a couple minutes, I ended up riding Casey Fannin’s wheel through a lot of the twisty singletrack on the back half of the course. Being his home course, it’s great to watch him rip through that stuff and made for a really fun ride… The run course change was a great addition I think. It’s still a tough run no doubt, but taking a couple of those crushing hills out and adding in some fast trails at the end sets it up for a great finish. Was able to coast it home for an overall amateur win!
The next week was a bit of recovery and then off to Bermuda for a work trip turned bike camp…got to spend 5 days getting crushed on the roads of Bermuda by the local roadies led by their fearless leader and all around good guy Greg Hopkins, owner of Winner’s Edge Bike Shop. These guys can really lay it down when the want to. This was great for my fitness and also allowed me to rest my foot a bit more.
Got back home and had a couple of days to gear up for Xterra Tsali, a small local(ish) race just over the border in North Carolina on some really fun and fast fast singeltrack. This was more of a sprint race, with an 800m swim in a cool lake, followed by a 5 mile run, and then finishing on a screaming fast 10 mile bike loop. Was out of the water and on the trails in first, followed by a few guys that were right on my heels. First race where we hit the run on the second leg, and I very nearly blew myself up trying to lose the guys behind me. By mile 3 I had put almost 2 minutes on them and just kept adding until I got to the bike and had finished the 5 miles in under 29 minutes. Must have been the Avi Bolts…Got to ride wide open with no one in sight and really enjoy those trails on the bike leg, but as it was only 10 miles, the wild ride was over in a mere 46 minutes. Got some interesting swag: raspberry sparkling malt beverage, a 26” tube for my 29er and a T-shirt for a local bike shop that didn’t even mention xterra…oh well, it’s not about the prizes, but the racing and camaraderie.
Final stop on the month’s tour was Richmond, 12-year home to the East Regional Championship…this is really a great race. Right in the heart of downtown Richmond and incredible fan support all the way through, complete with costumes and cow bells. Went with two changes for this race, no socks, and no gloves…sock decision was a good one, the Avi Bolts pretty much felt like socks and had no issues with blisters at all…no gloves, not so much…but we’ll get back to that. Swim start is always interesting, trying to jockey for space on the concrete pillar and figure out where to launch from. Watching Mel and a few other pros move way upstream and use the current to their advantage, I made a last minute move up there to follow. Had a decent swim and came out in 5th place. and about a minute back I managed to pick off the other 4 guys on lap one and was riding in first again. All was well, and then the humidity took hold and the hands got a bit slick. Twice in a row on a pass, I managed to let the hands slip and go endo into the woods…last time catching a pretty big lump on my back and an arm full of briars…second lap was kind of a fiasco, having to go through so many other sport racers and the back end of the championship pack…but then off on the run holding first and feeling really good. Hydration was spot on and I was able to run a hard pace, but not having to chase let me doll out the effort in control. Crossed the line with another overall amateur title and only 15 seconds away from the cheese…!
Hitting multiple races in a short stretch really makes you realize what a great group the Xterra community is. It is infectious for sure and makes all the rest of life’s issues seem less significant for a little while. Got to spend some quality time with my coach Mel and met some new MelRad teammates, as well as catching up with good friends on the tour….big props also to Audie Smith and Greg Swersky, 50 somethings and fellow Knoxvillians that made the rounds with me to the races and always finish with a smile…. always good to have drinking company on the drive home!
Now for the humble pie I spoke of….July 4th was to be spent with family in Breckenridge CO. Got married there in 2003 and was really excited to be back for my daughter’s first birthday and to take on the Firecracker 50, a 54 mile mtn bike race that climbs and descends over 10,000ft each…and the lowest elevation on the course was 9600 ft…yikes. You know you are in Colorado when women, on single speeds, pass you up on the climbs and aren’t even out of breath. Seriously, there are more elite athletes there than most of the southern states combined. A really great race to be a part of out there and always good to get it handed to you once in a while to remember there is always a lot to work on.
Next up is my first ever mtn bike stage race in the unforgiving mountains of Pisgah National Forest at the end of September….probably worth a blog whether I finish the race or go up in flames, so stay tuned. This was to be a short blog, so keep the wheels turning and for now…focker out.
